Doggone Days
by Ginku Lime
Summary: Naminé disliked facades. She despised fake friends. The only person she could call her true friend was her twin sister. Would she re-think her morals once she became a dog and met her new owner?
1. Unexpected

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters._

The first chapter is in Naminé's point of view.

* * *

**Chapter One: Unexpected**

Sure, I was never one of them.

No, I just pretended. Every school day I would walk into the school and be a new person. I was still myself, yes, but I was never completely myself. My friends consisted of the most popular girls who cared for nothing but boys and fashion. To put it bluntly, they were mindless.

They didn't think, they acted. If they were wrong, they denied it. Yes, my group of friends were one of the worst. They were fake.

My twin sister, Kairi, was in the same group. She might've acted a bit better than me, but inside she felt the same. I know.

"Naminé," someone called, "Are you going to come shopping with us?" She inserted a fake smile here.

The eyes of the cafeteria inhabitants were on her. They were on me.

"Sure," I said sweetly. I regret it, time wasted on mindless walking instead of focusing on art.

"Kairi's coming too, right?" Another drone asked.

"Obviously," I giggled.

Kairi was lucky she had a doctor's appointment. She skipped half a day of torture.

"Alright, we'll meet at Suki's house at five."

"You got it," girls around the table chorused.

Suddenly, the whispers ceased. Now, there was a pitiful attempt of acting uninterested. Because now, Cloud was about to pass the table.

Cloud had blond hair and deep grey eyes. His hair colour was a darker imitation of mine. Sure he was, dare I say it, **'cute'** but these girls knew nothing about him. All they knew and wanted was his looks.

I pretend to be bored, mimicking the others around me. I looked like one of them and I hated it. I hated pretending to be a different person but what was done was done. I was only one of them on the outside.

* * *

"Nami, you're home!" Kairi shouted and bounded down the stairs for a hug.

"Hey Kai, how was the appointment?" I asked, curious.

"It was good. Nothing too bad, they said," she gave a cheeky smile.

"Good to know," I smiled.

"So," Kairi continued changing the subject, "how were they today?"

"Ugh, don't get me started," I fake gagged and walked towards the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"

"Sushi!" Kairi ran and followed me into the kitchen. "My favourite," she laughed, licking her lips.

"You're like a dog," I laughed. "What would Annabel say?" I teased.

Kairi turned me around so she was facing me head on. "Kairi, what **are** you doing?" Kairi faked gasped, her hands over her mouth.

It was so accurate I had to laugh. Kairi was always acting disinterested and cool around the group.

Things had gone on like this for a long time. High School was a place where you had to pretend. There were so many facades I almost laughed. Why did we bother being someone else at school?

"I'm assuming they acted like fools again," Kairi started, getting the sushi from the refrigerator. "I mean, it was either Cloud or Leon today right? I'm so lucky mom decided to schedule a doctor's appointment."

Kairi had been coughing recently. It just started as a cough that occurred once a day. It had turned into a full time occurrence.

"Mm, doesn't it look good?" Kairi rubbed her hands together.

Everything was the same.

* * *

That night, I couldn't sleep. It was as if a force was trying to warn me something was wrong. I was too tired to pay attention to the open window. The window that wasn't supposed to be open.

* * *

The next morning, I blinked my eyes sleepily. I saw black. The floor was cold, and I could have sworn I smelled diesel. I rolled onto my back and stared at the endless black that stretched across the ceiling. The same colour as midnight...

I sat up, or at least, I tried.

My hands were tied from behind. Panicked, I looked around me. Kairi was in the same predicament but contrarily, she wasn't awake.

My feet were tied as well. The best I could do was slide my feet and nudge her. My mouth was gagged and I was close to tears. Where were we now? Who was driving the vehicle?

Kairi woke up, groggy and half awake. When she tried to speak, she coughed. And then she finally noticed the gag.

Everything happened in slow motion. I could tell she wanted to scream. Her pupils had dilated and her breath was hitched.

"Quiet back there girlies!" a rough voice called out harshly.

Kairi was on the verge of fainting.

* * *

An hour or two later, the van stopped. I heard the man get out. Thank goodness.

A tear escaped my eyes and Kairi noticed. She was the older twin and even though she didn't act it most of the time, she deserved the title in the most crucial moments.

"**Do you wish to escape?"**

'_Who's there?'_ I thought panicking once again.

"**Don't worry, I'm here to help you... but for a price."**

'_A price...?'_ I thought. The price couldn't be worse than this.

"**You have to find a person that cares for you two," the voice continued. "A person who doesn't just see your exterior."**

"Yeah, they're back here," the man's voice was audible. "What?! That wasn't the promised price! I drove all the way from Destiny Island to Radiant Garden and this is what you give me?!"

'_I'll agree to any term,'_ I assured the voice, _'Just get us out of here.'_

* * *

In a world far away from Destiny Islands or Radiant Garden, a woman lived in a hut, never coming out once. Her friend who was visiting saw what the woman was doing.

"Why do you bother with human lives?" The friend asked.

"It's because they're so interesting... especially those who seem to think their life is meaningless," The woman replied, staring at a mirror with the image of two twins. "They never seem to realize their life is worth something, something far more important than just material things."

The woman's friend took a look into the mirror hanging above the fireplace. On the left side there was a set of female twins, on the right side there was an image of male twins. Both seemed to be roughly the same age. The friend looked at the woman one last time before declaring, "Human lives are not to be trifled with."

The woman snorted. It was just like her friend to have memorized the rules.

"This isn't trifling with their lives, this is merely helping... for a price."

* * *

I woke up with the sun shining into my eyes. It was uncomfortable but at least I knew the episode with the kidnapping was just a dream. It had never happened. I was safe.

I squinted and looked around. Strange, I never knew my carpet was green. Did I even have a carpet in my room? Wait a minute... it was grass!

"Kairi!" I barked.

I widened my eyes. I... barked.

Realization finally hit me. I was no longer human.

"Over here Naminé," I heard Kairi whimper.

Getting to my feet (or in this case, paws), I ran to Kairi. The wind felt nice on my ears. I was faster than I ever was before. I slowed down when I saw Kairi. She had become a small petite dachshund. I laughed as I finally realized I was a bit taller than her.

"N-Naminé?" She whimpered again.

"Yup!" I barked. This was more fun than I first thought.

"You're a... golden retriever?" She squinted at me critically.

"Really?" I lifted my paws and tried to inspect them. Pale golden fur. The same colour as my hair.

"So, uhh, why am I a dog?" She looked at me with her big eyes. I paced as I realized I was the only one who heard the strange voice in the van.

As I explained to her the voice in my head, the proposition, and the price to pay, Kairi asked me some other questions. What were we going to do? Do we find food first, or shelter? Are we going to live to become human again?

"We'll find out when the time comes," I assured her.

* * *

We wandered because we were lost. That much was true. We tried to find a clue to as where we were but to no avail. They either had no signs or this was an unknown town.

The sun seemed to never set no matter how long we wandered. The crowd had thickened an hour or two before. The ruby red sun still sat on the horizon. I wondered if this was some kind of clue. It already felt like lunch time.

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice sneered.

Kairi and I froze. My fur seemed to rise along my back as I sidled into a defensive position. Behind us was a man carrying a large net. He had a simple blue puffy cap and jean overalls over his T-shirt. On his feet he wore thick leather boots.

I wondered why the voice didn't give us a collar.

* * *

"Run!" Kairi yipped.

I had no hesitation to stop me from escaping. I never knew stray dogs had a hard life. They must've seen us wandering around and thought that we were either careless or mentally unbalanced.

We both ran, Kairi and I, to escape the man running after us with a net. He didn't even seem to be breathing hard. He must've gotten a lot of exercise from running after dogs all day.

I was so preoccupied that I didn't notice we were about to cross the street. Kairi seemed to pause for a millisecond before she ran across. Since I was lagging behind, (I was never good at gym), I didn't pause to check for oncoming traffic. I assumed that when people saw a dog, they stopped their car.

I was very wrong.

* * *

I woke up to Kairi's whimpering voice. Somehow, I wasn't on the road any longer. I was on the scratchy sidewalk with my breath coming in painful gasps. I felt the pain that was inflicted all over my body. I couldn't stand, I couldn't talk, and I couldn't feel anything but the pain.

"Nami...? Are you a-alive?" I heard Kairi sob.

I wanted to answer.

'_Of course I am Kai,' _I thought, but the pain stopped me from actually voicing my statement.

"Hey... Hayner wait up!" A boy shouted rather loudly. "Whoa, is that a dog up ahead?"

I was pretty sure they were talking about me since I was covering Kairi from their view.

"Uh, Roxas? I think it's bleeding." The boy named Hayner pointed out to the first boy.

Roxas dropped his skateboard in Hayner's arms and ran up to me and Kairi. She accidentally bumped into me and I involuntarily flinched and closed my eyes. I guess I was in worse condition than I originally thought I was.

"Hello there..." Roxas' voice drifted into my ears. I opened my eyes and saw him in closer proximity. He had golden blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. Typically one of the popular kids in his school, I bet.

Hayner followed up behind him and examined me closely. Literally. He was so close that I had to shut my eyes again and think about the many places I would have rather been.

"I don't think there's anything you can do for her." Hayner started to say, scratching his head almost regretfully. "She must've got hit by a car or something."

I wondered how he knew I was a girl...

Oh... _great_.

"Let's get her to Aerith. Her clinic is close by right?" Roxas attempted to lift me off the sidewalk and failed. "Care to help, Hayner?"

Hayner looked skeptical, but complied.

With the two of them lifting, they finally spotted Kairi.

"You think it's her friend or something?" Hayner asked Roxas, one eyebrow raised.

"Maybe," Roxas answered distractedly. He was trying to lift me without accidentally bumping any of my cuts. "Alright, do you have a firm grip on her?"

"Yeah, yeah." Hayner said in a sarcastic tone. "Who's gonna carry our skateboards?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked, thrown off. I could tell it was his pride and joy. "We were going to skate there weren't we?"

"Are you crazy?! We could both fall and maybe even kill the dog!" Hayner shouted, exasperated.

Roxas grinned.

* * *

I ended up being carried by Roxas, alone. He had insisted that Hayner carried the skateboards. Every ten seconds or so, Hayner would ask if Roxas' arms were tired yet. The constant answer was 'no'.

Kairi had been following the duo close behind their heels. Hayner would look down now and then to comment on her irregular fur colour.

"... I mean, it's blazing red! What kind of dog has **red** fur?"

Roxas sighed. I guess this happened often.

"Hey, there's the clinic!" Hayner shouted, dropping his own skateboard. "Oh man..." He groaned.

Roxas started to jog to the clinic.

And that was where I passed out.

* * *

I woke up to the smell of medicine and too much hand sanitizer. I blinked when the light shone into my eyes. I almost got up when a gentle voice distracted me.

"I think she's okay other than the cuts and the bruises. Her ribs weren't cracked if we go back to the X-rays," a woman in her mid twenties said, pocketing the small flashlight. This must have been Aerith. "Is she your dog?"

"Huh? No way—" Hayner started, waving his hand for emphasis.

"She's mine," Roxas said, lying.

"Oh... alright," Aerith smiled.

"Do your parents know about this?" Hayner hissed as soon as Aerith was out of earshot. "Taking in a stray dog? I suppose you'll take in her friend too, as an early birthday gift for Sora, huh?!"

"That's a great idea!" Roxas whispered back, the grin back on his face.

"You're crazy," Hayner muttered covering a side of his face with one hand.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I was back outside again. Aerith must have given me something for the pain. I couldn't even feel my tail.

"Naminé!" I saw Kairi running towards me in record time.

"Kairi, I'm fine. No broken bones," I assured her.

"You're just going to let her go? After all that munny?" Hayner questioned.

"If she wants to go, she can go," Roxas slapped Hayner on the back a bit sadly. Hayner winced.

"Hey! You didn't have to slap me you know," Hayner mumbled rubbing his backside.

I made up my mind. I would follow Roxas and maybe, just maybe, Kairi and I would find a place to live. I walked up to him and bowed my head. I didn't know if he understood it or not, but it was worth a try.

Roxas, to my surprise, picked me up again.

"Don't you think she needs exercise? Put her down!"

"She's had enough exercise. And plus, she's hurt," Roxas sniffed disdainfully.

"Didn't you see her limping? It means she wants to walk!" Hayner continued to argue. "If she wanted you to carry her, she would have sat down and stared at you!"

Kairi just jogged along with them.

* * *

We walked in that fashion for a couple of minutes.

A few minutes later, we were at a huge mansion.

"See? It's better to let them decide if they want to come," Roxas bent down to pet me on the head before getting back up to unlock the door.

"Hmph," Hayner crossed his arms and pouted.

"You're so immature, you know that Hayner?" Roxas laughed and ran inside the house before Hayner could punch him.

"Why you little—!" Hayner ran inside as well.

I stood outside with Kairi, wondering if this was a good idea.

"It seems nice doesn't it? His parents must be rich!" She jumped inside.

I sighed. I had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Once I was inside, I could see the expensive furniture and lights. There was basically a chandelier hanging at the foot of a grand staircase. To my horror, Kairi had disappeared.

I jumped up, startled, by the noise behind me. I turned around to see the door's lock click. It was too late to back out.

I could hear Roxas and Hayner running around the first floor of the house. I decided to be foolhardy and explore. There was a door on my left that I predicted to lead to the living room. Little did I know there was a person in there.

I paused as I saw a chocolate haired boy reading a newspaper on the cashmere sofa.

"... Kai seemed to be winning the tournament but..." the boy read out loud.

To my surprise, Roxas burst into the room with Kairi in his arms and Hayner on his heels.

"This one's yours, Sora." Roxas dumped Kairi on the said boy's lap.

"Whoa, really? Thanks!" Sora grinned at Roxas and then hugged Kairi, who was clearly embarrassed, his newspaper forgotten. "From now onwards, you shall be Kai!"

"Uhh, you do know that she's a girl, right?" Hayner asked, sitting down on one of the empty seats.

I felt that it was time to make my presence known.

"Hey girl... where were you?" Roxas asked with a slight frown. He walked over to me and lifted me up again. Walking to an empty sofa, he plopped me down and sat down beside me.

"Hey Roxas," Sora looked up from petting Kairi, "Aren't you going to name her too?"

"Yeah Rox. Go on and name her," Hayner urged.

"Hmm... since Sora named his Kai... I'll just name mine Nami," Roxas replied, scratching his head.

"Not bad," Hayner nodded his approval.

I saw Hayner glance quickly at the clock hanging on the wall. The time read 5:00 PM. His mouth dropped as he nudged Roxas.

"How the hell did it get so late?!" He almost shouted with his hands on his head and his eyes wide. "Olette's going to kill me!"

"Haha!" Sora laughed with Kairi dangerously out of balance. "Serves you right," he said wiping a tear.

"Hey you two. I expect you to bring Nami and Kai to visit Olette, you hear?" And with that, Hayner ran out the door.

* * *

Roxas sighed and sank deeper into the couch. "Hayner is just _too_ active at times."

Sora chuckled and continued to read his newspaper while petting Kairi. After a while, Roxas got up and went to the kitchen. I, being his dog, followed him.

"Hmm, what am I going to give you for dinner girl?" Roxas asked rummaging through his refrigerator. "We have chicken, ham, and beef..."

I licked my lips involuntarily.

"You're hungry huh?"

I barked.

"Let's just go with the chicken," Roxas said fetching the frozen chicken and putting it in the microwave on a plate. He took a pot from his cupboard and went to fill it with water. When he finished that, he put it on the stove and turned up the heat.

The microwave beeped and Roxas walked over to it. Opening the microwave door, he checked to see if the chicken was defrosted. He shut the microwave and punched in some numbers. Apparently, it was still a bit cold.

I lay down on the kitchen's tiled floor and waited. I never knew boys like him knew how to cook. The microwave beeped again initiating that it was done.

He went to a drawer and pulled it open. In it were a few knives. He picked up the largest one and set it on the table. Opening the drawer beneath it, he drew out a cutting board. He set that on the table as well.

Finally he walked over to the microwave. He carefully lifted the plate and set it on the table. Gingerly, he picked up the chicken and proceeded to cut it into well sized pieces. I wondered where his parents were...

He started to hum a tuneless tune while cutting. It sounded a bit melancholy. It wasn't like him at all.

He proceeded to dump the contents on his cutting board into the pot of now boiling water. He unceremoniously took his cutting board, the knife, and the plate and put them in the dishwasher.

He sure had it easy when it came to washing dishes though.

Unlike our family.

"Well, now I have to start on Sora's dinner," Roxas grumbled. "I can't wait to relax tomorrow when **he **cooks."

So they were both talented in cooking.

* * *

"Oh! Looks great Roxas!" Sora could barely sit down fast enough.

"Tomorrow, you're cooking for the dogs," Roxas grumbled from his place across Sora.

The table was magnificently large enough to fit about ten people. It looked as if it were carved by hand. The dining room had a sophisticated touch to it. It was brightly lit, but not too brightly. There was a red carpet by their feet and the windows had scarlet drapes.

Someone here liked the colour red.

While the boys had pasta on china plates, Kairi and I had our own meal on a porcelain plate. The chicken that Roxas had boiled was tender and chewy.

It was late at night and I still couldn't find any presence of their parents. After twenty minutes of Sora questioning Roxas' day and Roxas asking if Sora really thought the newspaper was interesting, the food was finished and it was 11:00 PM. I never knew time could pass so quickly.

Sora yawned and stretched his arms. Roxas covered his mouth and yawned. I yawned and watched in amusement as the yawn was passed onto Kairi. She seemed to try to hold it in but in the end, she yawned in the most impolite manner.

"Load the dishes Sora," Roxas said getting up from the table and beckoning me to follow.

"Yeah," Sora mumbled incoherently. Kairi was loyal to him and stayed by his side as he loaded the dishwasher.

* * *

I followed Roxas as he led me up the beautiful stairway and into his room. I was expecting it to be typically messy. He _was_ a boy after all.

He opened the door to a room filled with stars. There was a blue lamp that was in the shape of a star. The wall had different coloured stars painted on them. A multi-coloured star hung from his ceiling. He also had many books lying around the floor and not in his bookshelf. There was a blue television sitting in a corner of his room. Not to mention, he had a skylight that was closed and covered at the moment.

His bed was right next to the window of never ending sunlight. The pale pink and red glow shined into his room making it look cozy. In another corner of his room, he had a desk with a desk chair in the shape of a star and two moons. To the left of his room, there was a huge walk in closet. He also had a huge personal bathroom near his walk in closet.

I would want to see the stars too if I had lived in endless sunrise/sunset for all my life.

"Sorry, it's a little messy Nami. I'll clean it up... tomorrow..." Roxas walked into his closet and rummaged around for his pyjamas. Not bothering to go to the washroom he started to change. I turned around and closed my eyes until I heard the rustling stop.

He threw his used clothes into a basket and went into the washroom to brush his teeth. I started to follow him until I remembered I didn't have to brush my teeth anymore. To be more precise, I couldn't.

Since I was feeling very sleepy, I had no trouble dozing off... on his bed.

* * *

**End of Chapter One**

* * *

Author's Note: Uhm, hello there and thank you for reading my first fanfic. You don't have to stress about leaving a review, but if you have any comments or criticism I hope you decide to. Oh, and if you spot any grammar mistakes, please notify me via review. Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed the story so far! :D


	2. Settling In

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts._

Rated T just to be safe. You can never be too safe... O-O -Paranoid-

* * *

**Chapter Two: Settling In**

Naminé woke up in the morning with the scarlet rays of the sun on her face. She blinked slowly and let her eyes adjust to the light. She was about to get up when she remembered that she didn't need to brush her teeth or get out of bed. She was just a dog with no cares, no deadlines, and no facades. Naminé was content. Maybe being a dog wasn't such a bad thing after all.

She looked around her surroundings. She was in a bed, she knew that as a fact. It was soft and fluffy with warmth. She rethought the sentence over. Now that she thought about it, it was overly warm...

She looked up at the direction of the pillows and literally froze.

Roxas was cuddling her close to him. That was why she was so warm. He was still sleeping, she assumed. His deep breathing was barely audible but she had the enhanced hearing of a dog. Slowly, she tried to get up without disturbing him.

"Mm..."

Naminé stopped in her tracks. Roxas seemed to tighten his grip on her. Getting up would be impossible now.

'_Why did I even sleep here in the first place?'_ Naminé mentally scolded herself. _'No matter how tired I was, I could have prevented sleeping with __**him**__.'_

"Rooooxaaass!" Sora's voice bounded into the room along with his being.

"...Whaat?" Roxas sounded annoyed that his peaceful slumber was disturbed and instinctively grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his head, letting go of Naminé. "I'll get up **later** Sora..."

"Rise and shine Roxie! Wake up now, not tomorrow," Sora continued prancing around the room with Kairi now joining him.

"Go **away** Sora!" Roxas mumbled through the pillow. Naminé hopped off the bed.

Sora grinned as Roxas' source of heat bounded out the room. He then got a sly look in his eyes.

"Oh no, Roxas! Nami... I think she's in pain! Oh my gosh, she's limping! Roxas, help her!"

Roxas Hikari paused before the sentence registered in his mind. Once it sunk in, he proceeded to hop out of bed in total panic mode.

* * *

A bruised Roxas was at the table, being served his eggs sunny side up with a side dish of bacon and toast by his butler. He continued to give Sora the evil eye, breaking contact only once to shove a piece of bacon into his mouth. Sora pretended to ignore Roxas. After all, it was just a joke right?

Finally, the tension got to Sora.

"Aww Roxas it was just a joke. C'mon, I didn't think you would have scrambled down the stairs so fast that you would trip down the whole flight of stairs." Sora seemed genuinely honest. That is, until he couldn't hold his laughter anymore.

"Right," Roxas said stiffly. Naminé could only rasp her doggy laughter.

"Hey... what about I make it up to you? You could ask me to do anything... except kill myself... or inflict pain onto others," Sora tried bargaining after his slip-up.

"Kind of takes the point away from the offer, doesn't it?" Roxas mumbled sarcastically.

Kairi and Naminé slipped away to their own breakfast which was bacon leftovers.

"Hah, Sora really doesn't know when to hold in his laughter like when his life depends on it, huh?" Kairi was giggling so much, her throat sounded raspy.

"Hey Sora, I think your dog's dying," Roxas remarked cynically.

"Say what?!" Sora rushed for a dish of water, running out of the dining room and into the kitchen.

"Payback," Roxas grinned for the first time that day.

* * *

Ever since Sora had come back out of the kitchen, a wild look in his eyes and his clothes soaking wet holding onto a bowl filled to the brim with water, to find Roxas eating calmly and peacefully pausing only to deliver the words 'It was a joke' Sora pouted.

"That was mean Roxas."

"Well, you should have thought of that before you told me Nami was in pain to get me to wake up."

The only retort Sora could find was a grunt that meant 'I know you're right but I won't admit it'.

Roxas finished his breakfast and dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief while their butler lifted the clean plate away. Sora grudgingly ate his toast until he, too, had finished his breakfast.

"Want to teach them some tricks?" Roxas asked all of a sudden.

"...Fine," Sora finally said, all traces of a grudge, gone.

* * *

"Sit Kai, come on... That's a good girl!" Sora exclaimed when Kairi executed a perfect example of an obedient dog. Sora threw her a piece of a paopu fruit which Kairi hesitated to gobble down only for a second. She was an excellently obedient dog after all.

"Hey Sora, you know there's a legend about the paopu fruit—"

"Shh, Roxas. Don't taint Kai's ears."

"Taint?" Roxas crossed his arms and waited for an explanation.

The explanation never came.

Sighing, Roxas bent down and stared at Naminé which unnerved her. Such close proximity was enough to make any girl squeal. Especially if the person in front of you was Roxas.

Naminé, being the stubborn girl (or dog) she was, refused to acknowledge Roxas at all. She still believed that he was a boy who did nothing but complain and use other people's feelings to his advantage.

"Nami, could you uh... sit?" Roxas looked a bit uncomfortable now.

"No, you can't do it like **that** Roxas. You have to be confident," Sora inputted once he heard his twin brother's poor attempt of a command.

"Nami, sit." Roxas tried again.

Naminé slowly sat down on her hindquarters. She mentally noted that it felt weird to obey another person who obviously looked down on her intelligence level. She was as smart as him, if not better.

"Good girl," Roxas awkwardly petted her head.

Sora just sighed in frustration. Roxas really knew nothing about dogs.

"Okay, let's see if they know how to lie down," Sora said, reaching for another paopu fruit piece.

"Didn't I tell you already? There's a legend behind that lethal fruit!"

"Lethal? It's not lethal! For your information, it tastes great. Right Kai?" Sora turned to Kairi expectantly.

"Woof...?" Kairi barked uncertainly.

"I bet even **she** knows the legend of the paopu fruit Sora! You're such a goof head."

"Am not," Sora butted in indignantly.

"Anyways, you said something about lying down?" Roxas said, expertly shifting the conversation.

"Oh... yeah," Sora scrunched up his face in concentration. "Kai, lie down."

Kairi obediently did so. She could win an award for being so obedient.

"Good job Kai! Your turn Nami!" Sora looked over at Naminé cheerfully, as if he expected her to actually do it.

"Lie down Nami," Roxas said in a tone that implied pleading.

She did. Hesitantly though. Her pride was on the line here.

"Good girl," Roxas sighed and unconsciously threw her a piece of the 'lethal' paopu fruit.

She ate it. She was hungry after all.

"Oh, how about one more trick before mom or dad comes home?" Sora asked Roxas.

"Sure," Roxas replied a bit tiredly. He had lost a major portion of sleep thinking about the problem that came in the form of his parents. How could he convince even one of them?

"Kai, roll over."

It was executed perfectly.

"Nami? Roll over."

She refused.

"Dude, you just got ignored! I bet it was your first time being ignored by a girl, huh?" Sora couldn't contain his laughter.

"Larxene ignored me once too..." Roxas mumbled.

"Want Kai to show Nami how it's done?" Sora asked a bit more considerately this time.

"Sure?"

"Kai, roll over."

Slowly, Kairi rolled over all the while staring at Naminé.

Naminé just stared at him emotionlessly. No way was she going to flash her stomach for all to see again.

"It's no use Roxas. I think you have to teach her manually," Sora grinned manically and bounded out of the room with Kairi in search of the daily newspaper. Roxas was left to his own devices.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and Roxas was still determined to get Naminé to roll over. It was as if she was purposely evading Roxas' hands. Every time he was about to roll her over himself, she refused to remain lying down and would get up onto her paws.

"UGH!" Roxas shouted for the seventh time, his hands furiously scratching his head in attempt of gaining a bright idea. Naminé was almost amused staring at his actions. She wasn't aware that the front door had opened but Roxas was. "Mom's home already?" He whispered to himself.

"Roxas? Sora? Where are you two?" A female voice asked. "Aren't you going to greet your own mom?"

"C-coming," Sora's shaky voice could be heard from upstairs. Roxas wasn't so lucky.

"H-hey mom," Roxas tried to smile, but failed when his mom poked her head into the living room and saw Naminé.

* * *

"What is this dog doing inside the house Roxas? I demand an explanation from you—" Sora chose to make his entrance at that moment with Kairi, "—and Sora. Now."

"Uhm, well... you see, I found her yesterday—"

"So you mean it could have rabies? You brought home a mutt?!" Their mother shouted.

"No, Nami's a purebred golden retriever," Roxas threw in a half lie since he wasn't so sure himself.

"You even named it?! What about you Sora? Is this other dog dirty as well?!"

"I don't think so... I mean, Kai smelled like strawberry shampoo yesterday—"

"You. Sniffed. The. Dog." Mrs. Hikari's question came out more of a statement.

"Uhh, no?" Sora attempted to cover up his mistake with a lie.

"Don't lie to me young man!" Their mom screeched.

"Okay, yeah, maybe I did," Sora muttered quietly.

"If you get these dogs out by today, I'll promise to get you both a purebred dog from the pet store." She tried to bribe them.

"You promised us that **five** years ago mom," Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'll get you both one, now."

"Well, we don't **want** one now," Roxas mimicked his mom.

Their mom left the room in frustration.

Roxas stared at Sora sullenly while Kairi blinked her eyes in disbelief in being called dirty. She used only the best shampoo for her hair. Naminé was busy being offended at being called a mutt. Seriously, the woman just came into the house, took one look at her, and labelled her a mutt. It was stereotypical of her to judge Naminé just because she heard that Roxas picked her off from the streets.

Mrs. Hikari came back into the living room to find that the dogs were still in her house.

"Roxas... Sora..." She growled.

"Mom, listen. They're very obedient and they could do all of those fancy dog tricks their first try. Just give them a chance, would you?" Roxas asked his mother in the most pleading and miserable tone of voice Naminé had ever heard him use.

"Tell them to both roll over and they might get to stay. Both of them need to roll over or they both get out," Mrs. Hikari crossed her arms.

Roxas looked as if the Gods had cursed him. Sora only stared at Roxas, his face drawn into a dead look of torture. How could their mom have picked the only trick Naminé couldn't (or wouldn't) do?

"Roll over Kai."

Kairi had no problem.

Now it was Naminé's turn to sweat. If she didn't do it, she would probably get kicked out of the house.

"R-roll over Nami," Roxas gave Naminé the most pleading look. He then shut his eyes and clasped his hands together in a praying position.

Slowly, Naminé lay down. Hesitantly, she did a quick turn and rolled onto her paws. Roxas, who had peeked during the time that he was supposedly praying, grinned at Naminé's efforts. She had done it!

Mrs. Hikari only grunted in displeasure and disappeared. She reappeared a bit later with car keys dangling from her fingers.

"Where are you going mom?" Sora asked a bit curiously.

"Don't you need supplies? Hurry up and get into the car before I change my mind." She walked out the door.

Roxas pulled Naminé into a tight hug.

"Thanks Nami," Roxas whispered into her pale fur.

* * *

Inside the car, Sora had settled himself comfortably in the car and was now playing with Kairi's ears. Roxas slid into the seat beside him and picked up both of Naminé's ears. He noticed that they were uneven.

"Mom? Could we bring her to the fur trimmer? Nami's ears are uneven."

"Sure, why not? Might as well look presentable."

Naminé tensed in fear. She had paid expensively for her haircut. She wasn't about to let someone else ruin it. She would look horrible if she ever became human again.

* * *

"Alright Nami, you're just going to get your fur trimmed okay? Nothing to worry about, I promise." Roxas pet her one last time before handing her over to the groomer.

Naminé looked at him with pleading eyes. She didn't want her fur trimmed, especially not her ears which portrayed her hair as a human. No way was she going to do this willingly.

She was tied to a pole that stood on a special table. The groomer was about to clip the first uneven thing he saw, which were her ears.

She proceeded to whine.

Roxas looked guilty but he just stood looking at her with his mom, Kairi, and Sora. Time for step number two.

She fidgeted.

The groomer sighed in annoyance but it only delayed him for a moment. He was about to bring the razor to her ears again. Time for extraordinary measures.

She rolled over.

"Not now!" Roxas hissed urgently.

"So she did know how to roll over," Sora commented from his place behind Roxas.

"Uh, mom? Could we just forget about trimming her fur?" Roxas asked hesitantly. "I think she's a bit scared."

Mrs. Hikari just crossed her arms and muttered, "I knew I should have thrown these dogs out..."

Roxas paid no mind and rushed up to the dishevelled groomer to retrieve Naminé. Apologizing a few more times, Roxas finally got Naminé back. He lifted her off of the table and set her on the ground. After shaking herself thoroughly, she gave a satisfied sniff and walked over to Kairi.

"It's like **she** owns **you**," Sora whispered suggestively.

"She does not," Roxas punched his twin on the arm none too lightly and walked away.

"She **so** does," Sora retorted, rubbing his sore arm.

* * *

"Can I help you?" A sales clerk was standing behind the group of five, including their dogs.

"Yes, could you suggest a brand of dog food suitable for golden retrievers and dachshunds?" Their mom asked politely.

"Right over this way please," the sales clerk glanced at the two dogs and then ushered Mrs. Hikari to the next aisle.

Roxas rolled his eyes. Subtly nudging his brother, he jerked his head in the direction of the collars and leashes. That would be more interesting than picking out the most delicate type of dog food. Not that he had anything against delicate dog food. Sora nodded his head excitedly and quietly slipped away to join his brother.

Naminé and Kairi decided that the type of collar their owners would pick out for them would be more important than finding a high quality type of dog food.

"... No Sora, that would make her look like a freak," Roxas' whispered voice carried over the shelves.

"What? No, it'll compliment her red fur!" Sora whispered back angrily.

"She'll look like a **strawberry**!" Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets.

"She'll be a cute strawberry!" Sora clutched at the collar like a lifeline.

"... Suite yourself," Roxas said, taking his hands out of his pockets to reach for a light blue collar with a star pattern.

"Now **that** looks awkward," Sora interjected.

Roxas sighed and put the collar back on its hook. Sora took one last glance at the green collar and put it back on the hook as well. They might not show it, but they considered each other's opinions valuable.

Naminé didn't really mind the light blue colour of Roxas' choice, but the stars looked a bit weird. Kairi sighed in relief knowing that she wouldn't have to wear the green collar.

Sora mistook her sigh as regret. He picked her up and made her face the shelf of collars. Kairi widened her eyes at the sudden action and at how high she was above ground.

"Go on and pick Kai," Sora voiced from his position behind her.

Kairi looked back and forth between the display of collars and then pawed at the left side of the shelf. Roxas was clearly confused as to why Kairi understood Sora. His mouth was even open.

Sora stepped to the left. Kairi pawed to the left once more. Sora took another step. Kairi then reached out for a pink and black collar that gave an impression of a mismatched zipper. Sora put her down and took it into his hands.

"Found Kai's collar," Sora turned back to Roxas with a grin on his face and his hand elevating the pink/black collar into the air. Roxas snuck a peek at Naminé. She was staring right back at him. Sighing, he picked Naminé up and held her in such a way that she could see the collar display.

Naminé looked at the display from a human's point of view for the first time since she turned into a dog. She missed the things she could do without depending on someone else. It was so frustrating that she had to count on another person, a stranger, to feed her, to clean her, and to care for her. It was, truly, the worst point of her life.

Naminé inwardly sighed. It wasn't his fault that she was in this predicament anyways. It was, in some way, her own fault. She was grateful for what Roxas had done, but sometimes, it was hard to know that she could have fed herself without any help.

Naminé looked to the right and to the left. Roxas was having a little trouble holding her up.

She wasn't **that** fat though.

She finally pawed to the right. Roxas took a step in wonder. Maybe these dogs were, in some way, more intelligent than normal dogs.

Naminé scratched at a simple metal chain with a star locket. She wondered why dog collars had lockets anyway, but she was happy that there was a human-like design in the midst of doggy tastes.

Roxas put her down and reached gingerly for the chain. It was perfect. He didn't know that Naminé had almost the same taste in collars as he did. They would both have to wear a chain every day he mused.

"Nami, did you know you have the same tastes as me?" Roxas bent down and pet her on the ears, softly.

She finally smiled genuinely, for the first time, at Roxas.

Sadly, Roxas was preoccupied with the star locket chain.

As twins are (mostly) alike, Sora was also looking at the star locket.

Luckily, Kairi was not looking at the locket, but instead, focused on Naminé. A grin formed on her lips.

Poor Naminé. A week of torture to come in the form of Kairi.

Roxas looked back down on Naminé a bit too late. She had stopped smiling the second she had found out that she was, in fact, smiling. "So, do you want to pick your own leash as well?" Roxas twirled the chain on his fingers.

Naminé sniffed uninterestedly.

"I'll take that as a no," Roxas started to walk deeper into the aisle with Sora, Kairi, and Naminé behind him.

"What about you, Kai? Do you want to pick your own leash?" Sora looked back behind him, at Kairi.

She pretended not to understand and Sora just shook his head.

"I know you're not that dumb Kai."

* * *

"Where did you boys disappear to? I looked elsewhere for a minute and you two are gone!" Mrs. Hikari asked once they had purchased dog food, a bed, some bowls, the collars, and the leashes. Only the collars and leashes were chosen by Roxas and Sora. Or so Mrs. Hikari thought.

"Sorry mom," Sora gave his mom a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, thanks mom. You really helped out a lot," Roxas added from his position beside Sora in the back seat of the car.

"Helped out huh? More like I did everything..." Mrs. Hikari mumbled with both hands on the steering wheel.

Roxas just gave a smile.

* * *

"Sora, you make the weirdest dinners ever," Roxas commented from his place across from Sora on the dinner table. "I mean, toast and omelette for dinner with a side of cider?! Are you getting mixed up on what dinner is?"

"Leave your brother alone, Roxas." Mrs. Hikari speared a piece of omelette from her plate and brought it to her mouth. "I personally like omelette for dinner."

"I guess he takes that from you," Roxas whispered and bit his toast. It really wasn't that bad actually.

Naminé and Kairi were deciding whether to eat from their new purchased bowls filled to the brim with... dog food. When Kairi and Naminé first saw the bowl, they instantly gagged at the fact of eating dog food. They had watched when their _friends_ had threatened to force dog food into an innocent student's mouth just because the student had refused to hand over their completed homework. In the end, the student had thrown the completed paper into their faces. All because of the mention of dog food.

Kairi bravely took a small piece into her mouth.

And spat it back out.

"It tastes like concentrated chicken!" Kairi complained, rubbing her tongue on the wall. Luckily, Mrs. Hikari didn't notice.

"It... it can't be **that** bad, right?" Naminé asked with a flicker of hope.

"It **is** that bad! Well, maybe not **that** bad. Now I know why dogs love human food," Kairi refrained from damaging the wall any further and plopped her tongue out.

In the end, they had to eat it anyways.

* * *

The Hikari family (excluding their dad) had finished their dinner and was now preparing for bed. Roxas was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. Naminé was trying to sleep in her newly bought bed, but failed due to the fact that it smelled unnatural. Like a new pillow you haven't washed yet.

Roxas had exited from the washroom and was dressed in his pajamas that consisted of a baggy t-shirt and baggy shorts. It was funny how drowsiness could influence the way you dress. Roxas paid no mind to his appearance and hopped into bed. He took one last look at the lonely corner Naminé was in and pulled the blankets over himself.

She would have come to him by now if she had wanted to sleep with him again.

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

Author's Note: Hello and thanks for reading once again. I never had time to explain why I chose to write this particular story, so I'll write it out today. I know many people have done this plot before me but I had wanted to try writing my own version. I'm not sure where it'll lead me but I'm willing to write until then. Once again, thank you for reading. Oh, and please tell me if there are any grammar mistakes. It really bothers me and I have no idea why...

P.S. This is a bit urgent and embarrassing at the same time. I'm not quite sure if I wrote their ages yet... (Kairi and Naminé's that is). If you've spotted their ages please tell me. I'm so useless. D:

**FeralFairy: Thank you, I'm really happy that you enjoyed the story. Erm, I had thought the story was clear but I guess it wasn't clear enough. Kai is what Sora named Kairi because of her dog form. Nami is what Roxas decided to name Naminé after he heard his brother's choice. (Kai means ocean and Nami means wave if that helps). Was there a tournament of some sort mentioned here? I'm quite sure I didn't write anything about a tournament... o_o"  
**

**xMisfit: Thank you! You really have no idea how happy I was the day I read your review. I'm pretty sure I was floating in school that day. ;]**

**Chipmunk4Ever: Haha, thank you! Here's the next chapter for you! xD  
**


	3. Olette

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts_

I want to thank everyone for reading this story. Once again, thank you everyone! :D

* * *

**Chapter Three: Olette**

"Beep, beep, beep."

It was the worst day of the week. Roxas grumbled incoherent words as he tried to find his beeping alarm clock. Naminé upturned a sleepy eye. It was Monday, she realized. Roxas and Sora would have to go to school. Roxas slammed his hand on the poor device and groaned.

He finally rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got out of bed to grab his uniform in his closet. Roxas made his way, blindly, to the washroom. His blonde hair was still spiky, but on a whole different level. There was no way to predict which way the spikes were going at all. Naminé inwardly laughed. She remembered the days in which her hair looked almost as bad as his.

Pain suddenly stabbed at her heart. She missed those days, even though it was barely two days since she had become a dog. Naminé looked mournfully at the closed bathroom door and gave an inaudible whine. What she would give to be in his place.

Roxas emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, his hair gelled to perfection and his uniform crisp. Because Roxas had worn his uniform hurriedly though, his tie was crumpled in places and his shirt buttons were undone showing his undershirt. Naminé sighed. The uniform didn't look too bad on him. Immediately after she understood what she had thought, she mentally scolded herself.

'_What was I doing?'_ Naminé thought, _'I'm his dog right now. Plus, I'm not interested in guys like him."_

"See you later, Nami," Roxas pet her head rather roughly, "Be a good girl okay?" Naminé gave a low bark to indicate that she understood. "Love you, bye."

Naminé blinked. Roxas was already out the door meeting with Sora downstairs. Kairi slowly came into Roxas' room. Her collar ID jingled as she took each step. Naminé took a glance at her own collar. She didn't know when Roxas had put it on for her.

"He said he loved me," Kairi said, rolling her eyes, "That caught me so off guard that I fell off his bed."

"Funny," Naminé mused, "Roxas said the same thing. Must be a morning thing, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Hey, did you know that their mom went out earlier than them? It was four in the morning!" Kairi gave an enthusiastic leap. "We have the house to ourselves! Well, apart from their house staff, that is."

"Do you want to be human again?" Naminé asked her twin quietly.

"W-what? Why do you ask?" Kairi stared at Naminé and saw that she was serious. "Yeah, I do... but shouldn't we enjoy the time we have away from school? I mean, that's what we always wanted to do when we were human, right?"

"What if there's no turning back? What if we can't become human ever again?" Naminé felt a stinging sensation in her eyes. "What if we never get to see our mom again?"

Kairi understood what Naminé was trying to say but she chose not to answer. She didn't want to lie to her own sister even if it would produce a positive effect.

Silently, Kairi padded out of the room.

* * *

Naminé was left alone with her thoughts. The large room seemed too quiet and it did nothing to improve her mood. She thought of her mom alone in Destiny Islands with no one to comfort her with the fact that, no, they weren't dead.

Naminé delved deeper into her own thoughts. She was once a kid with no ambitions but to become the world's greatest artist. How she toiled just to make a drawing she couldn't find any faults in. The time she took to draw just one piece. It was a big sacrifice and it ended up with no benefits... except in art class.

In elementary school, she fitted in without trying. She just had to be herself. Soft spoken and gentle, she became one of the first asked person to perform any artistic project. She did so without issuing any complaints. She loved drawing and she was glad to help anyone else in need.

Middle school was when she had to start trying. She still helped people, but her self-consciousness was on all time high. She had to act a certain way to be considered perfect. Then again, no one was technically always perfect.

Kairi did better than her. She was outgoing. She was social. She wasn't afraid. Naminé sighed. It wasn't all that visible in middle school but it began to change in high school.

All of a sudden, there were cliques and groups. You either belonged or you didn't. Luckily, or in this case, unluckily, Kairi found a new friend in fitness and asked if she and Naminé could join her for lunch. She accepted after Kairi had added that Naminé was her twin. Judging based on looks, both Kairi and Naminé passed.

The first day Naminé and Kairi had joined the girl for lunch with her friends was hell. Time was wasted commenting on how Kairi ate, how Naminé couldn't, or didn't, talk, and the way the twins dressed. Naminé personally thought the way she dressed was comfortable. After all, how you look comes after how comfortable it feels, right?

Since Naminé had been quiet and obedient, she almost immediately obeyed. She spent her allowance on brand name items she wouldn't have looked twice at before. She started talking more, getting rid of her shy exterior. She changed her attitude to fit in. Worst of all, she lost her time to sketch.

Her only wish was to be the person she was six years ago.

Too bad it was too late.

* * *

Roxas was on the student council, or to put it in Sunset High terms, Organization Thirteen. He was, luckily, the thirteenth member. It was commendable; he was the youngest member there.

It was funny how early their meetings took place. School hadn't even started yet.

"Roxas, are you listening? We asked you a question," Xemnas tapped his pen impatiently.

"Oh, number thirteen is daydreaming!" Larxene laughed rudely, "I guess there's a first for everything."

"Sorry," Roxas brushed his bangs away from his eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about Nami. "What was that?"

Axel just covered his mouth and tried to stifle his snicker. Apparently, Roxas daydreaming was hilarious to all but himself.

"We were asking if you would cooperate with the upcoming play," Xemnas explained once again for Roxas' benefit, "I know that many girls are attracted to you Roxas—don't try to deny it," He cut Roxas' protest off before he could utter a word, "I know that you are well aware of this."

"What our dear leader is trying to say is that you would be the perfect bait to lure those unsuspecting fan girls into joining the play. More people joining would result in a bigger audience," Axel finished his explanation with a twirl of his fingers.

"Wait, you want me to join a play—" Roxas shuddered at this, "to lure a bunch of girls?"

"Sadly, you are the scapegoat this time, Roxas." Zexion told Roxas with a bored voice, turning a page in his book. "Everyone here had to sacrifice themselves at least once."

Roxas crossed his arms childishly. "What if I don't want to do it?"

Saix turned around from his position on Xemnas' right hand side and narrowed his eyes. "Are you disobeying direct orders, Roxas?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"N-no... it—I was just curious," Roxas finished lamely, uncrossing his arms. The Organization sure did have ways to make him to obey orders. He always felt jittery when he was in the same room with all of them. He would get a feeling in his gut saying that he didn't belong there.

But of course, he did. Right?

"You're going to have to try out for the main male character..." Demyx directed his statement at Roxas.

"Good luck to you Roxas." Xemnas concluded. "Organization, dismissed."

Murmured voices faded out.

* * *

"I can't believe you're trying out for the play!"

Sora continued to voice his disbelief throughout lunch. When Roxas first told Sora before history class, Sora was staring at him like he was from a different planet entirely. The school plays were known to be the worst attempt of acting there was. To put it bluntly, the school couldn't interest the students in drama, therefore losing a lot of time and munny to direct and undergo with the plays in the first place.

"It wasn't my choice, Sora. Can't we get our lunches first?" Roxas was eagerly stepping up his pace to hopefully lose Sora. Too bad they were both athletic.

Sora easily jogged and caught up to Roxas. This was one topic that he wasn't about to change.

"So, is the Organization planning something along these lines? Say... uh, getting more people to join the play using you as some kind of bait? Oh, and don't forget the munny involved if this play becomes a success," Sora finished his deduction with a triumph grin.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know this," Roxas finally got to the line of hungry students waiting for the food. "But really, it can't be **that** bad, right?"

* * *

Roxas and Sora had gotten their lunch and were now heading towards one table in particular. Hayner, Pence, and Riku were already there eating their homemade or cafeteria lunches.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard you were joining the lamest play ever?" Hayner dipped one of his fries in some ketchup.

"Aha... yeah but, it wasn't really my choice," Roxas set down his tray on the table and scratched the back of his neck. He always did that when he was embarrassed.

"No, I guess not. I mean, you don't really **seem** like the acting type," Riku took a bite out of his homemade sandwich and wiped the sauce off his mouth.

"Can I tape it? I'm sure people would be willing to buy a 'Roxas Behind the Scenes' thing," Pence was finished his lunch and was fiddling with his newly bought camera.

"No—you can't tape it," Roxas mumbled while stuffing himself with fries. Roxas looked up to find Xigbar staring at him from across the many tables. "I-I mean, uh, sure why not?" Roxas forced himself to grin and look at Pence. Xigbar was seen nodding his head with a content expression on his face.

"Awesome!" Pence pumped his fist into the air. While the others ate, he contemplated what angle to take the shots.

After a few moments of silence, Hayner brought up the one topic Roxas wanted everyone to forget. "Which part are you going to try out for?"

"Can we drop it already? It's not like I was chosen to be sent to space!" Roxas balled up his fry package and shot it into the garbage bin. It hit the rim, but landed inside.

"Nice shot," Hayner had already shaped his waste into a ball and threw it. It hit the rim and bounced off. "I don't get why you can get the shot and I can't," Hayner complained with no real jealousy.

"It's because I actually have skills," Roxas countered distractedly. He was beginning to worry about Nami again. He would make it up to her later. Better yet, he could install hidden live cameras around the house and watch her whenever he got worried.

Sora was talking to Riku about something that seemed very important. It was best not to confide with him yet. Roxas looked around the cafeteria and caught some people staring. As fast as he saw them, they turned around and looked anywhere but him. Roxas turned to look at the clock and sighed. Three more hours until he could go home.

* * *

Naminé sat on the couch in the living room and stared at the blank screen on the television. It was boring to stay at home and think. She had gotten over her depressed state though she had stubbornly promised to try to be herself. It was quite easy once she got in touch with her thoughts. The past six years had done nothing but suppress her personality. Her real self was there the whole time, waiting to be freed again.

"Kairi," Naminé called out with a bored tone, "What should we do to pass the time? I don't think I can do this another day, much less, for the next ten years of my life."

"You were doing fine this morning," Kairi tried to turn on the television screen without much success. Her paws were too big and clumsy. "Why don't you get a marker and draw on a piece of paper or something."

Naminé perked up. This was a great chance for her to redeem her skills. "Thanks Kairi!"

She ran into Mrs. Hikari's office filled with pencils and pens. She grabbed a pencil in her mouth and ran back into the living room where Kairi had finally gotten the screen to show the news. Naminé looked for a piece of paper around the floor when suddenly, she heard her name.

"... Naminé and Kairi are missing. They were last seen Friday night. We ask all witnesses to contact the police station if they have information. They have been gone for three days and their mother is frantic with worry. We will now show a picture of the two twins."

"Oh, no!" Kairi gasped. The front door had opened and she was frantically trying to turn off the television. "Naminé, help!"

Naminé abandoned her search for a piece of paper and began to punch the buttons on the remote furiously.

"Nami? Aren't you even going to say hi?" Roxas' voice drifted into the living room where he must have heard the television.

"That's not nice, Kai. I thought you knew better than to ignore me." Sora was walking towards the living room as well.

Kairi and Naminé both heard the thud that indicated that the male twins had dropped their school bags. With a determined mind, Naminé slammed her paw onto the remote.

All was quiet.

Roxas came into the room first. He sat down on the same couch Naminé was on a few minutes ago. Sora came up from behind Kairi and scooped her up.

"I missed you Kai!" Kairi's eyes bulged as Sora squeezed and spun her around the room.

"Come here Nami," Roxas looked tired, as if that one day of school was completely exhausting. "How are you? Was it lonely?" Roxas asked when Naminé had settled into the seat beside him.

Naminé gave a small bark. Not loud enough to say that it was amazing, but not low enough for it to be considered awful. Roxas gave a small grin.

The phone started to ring abruptly, startling both Naminé and Kairi. Sora and Roxas, however, were used to it. Roxas got up slowly and muttered to his brother, "I'll get it."

Roxas ran over to the stand that held the phone and answered it. The phone really wasn't that far, Naminé noted.

"Hello? Oh, Hayner? Yeah, we're not doing anything right now. Olette? Oh yeah, sure! See ya." Roxas slammed the phone back into its cradle. "Sora, get ready. We're going to Hayner's house."

Sora was so surprised, he almost dropped Kairi. "Uh, did you—I mean, did he say we could bring..."

"Yeah, he said something about Olette being really anxious to meet Nami and Kai." Roxas went to find Naminé and Kairi's leashes. "Could you put your bag and mine in your room, please?" He called over his shoulder.

Sora mumbled a bit about the bags being full of bricks and was about to lug the two bags upstairs when their butler appeared out of nowhere and took them for him.

"Thanks!" Sora shouted leaning on the bottom of the stairway banister.

"Sora, put this leash on Kai yourself," Roxas said as he threw the leash at Sora.

Sora caught it easily and bent down to clip it around Kairi's collar. "All set to go?" Sora asked. He was already holding the leash around Kairi's neck like a proud owner. All he had to do now was wear his shoes.

Roxas clipped the leash on Naminé and started to walk to where the shoes were. He slipped into his shoes and waited for Sora to do the same. Naminé and Kairi could hardly wait. Finally, they could breathe a breath of fresh air.

* * *

"Where's Nami and Kai?!" Hayner had swung the door open and greeted the two male twins in this fashion. "Olette's really happy that she can finally meet them. Don't just stand there, come in!" Hayner ran back inside his house in a frenzy.

"What's gotten into **him**?" Sora asked Roxas with a questioning look.

"Don't ask me," Roxas sighed and took off his shoes and Sora did the same.

Naminé and Kairi were both wondering why Olette was so happy to hear that they were coming. The four walked inside Hayner's house tried to find something to occupy themselves until Hayner came back. It would be rude to just run around the house looking for him when it wasn't their house.

"You guys are so slow," Hayner's voice came from upstairs.

Roxas closed the front door and unclipped Naminé's leash. Sora had already gone ahead to Hayner's room. Naminé shook her fur once and started up the stairs. Roxas wasn't far behind taking two steps at a time. By the time Naminé and Roxas had reached Hayner's room, Kairi was playing with Olette.

"She's a dog?" Naminé asked in disbelief. To Kairi it sounded like a question, but to the three teenage boys, it sounded like a cry before an attack.

"Whoa," Roxas said scooping Naminé up, "I don't know what's gotten into her. Maybe she's never met another dog other than her friend there?"

"I dunno about that Roxas. I mean, she looks all gentle and everything, but is she really?" Hayner carefully scooped up Olette into his arms and slowly brought her closer to Naminé.

Olette was a chocolate brown cocker spaniel with cute, curly ears. Her green eyes looked as if she knew more than she let on. Most of all, she looked like she loved Hayner very much.

Naminé decided to take it slow. She didn't know the dog, and the dog didn't know her.

"Hello Naminé," Olette tilted her head in a childish but captivating manner.

"H-hello," Naminé stuttered back. She had no idea how Olette knew her name and was taken by surprise.

"Kairi told me, if you were wondering." Olette looked at the boys' worried faces. "Here, let's get you down first." Naminé noticed that Roxas was still carrying her.

Olette leaned towards Naminé and licked her face while wagging her tail. Hayner breathed a sigh of relief. Roxas gently lowered Naminé to the floor and sat on Hayner's bed. His house was big, almost as large as Sora and Roxas'. The furniture was a bit cozier than the Hikari family's modern furniture.

"So when is this play tryout?" Hayner could be heard stifling a laugh as the dogs trotted away.

Kairi, Naminé, and Olette walked out of the door and down the hallway. The door next to Hayner's room was apparently Olette's room. The whole room was furnished comfortably and was outfitted with everything a dog could need.

Heading for a tent in a corner of her room, Olette beckoned them to head inside. Inside the tent was a beanbag... a soft, fluffy, black beanbag. Not to mention bowls of food and water.

"You must be wondering why I was so anxious to meet you. I don't know how to ask this but... are you two human?" Olette fidgeted uncomfortably. The question caught Kairi and Naminé by surprise. How did she know?

"We were." Kairi corrected. "The circumstances are a bit different now."

"Sorry," Olette laughed at her mistake. "Even I should have noticed that."

"... How do you know this?" Naminé asked with confusion, "Unless you were once human as well—"

Olette smiled.

"That was a good guess."

* * *

Olette started to tell both Kairi and Naminé of her human history.

**She was born in the outskirts of Twilight Town where her mother and father had both lived. Her father was a hard working man. His workplace, though, was in the heart of Twilight Town. For long periods of time, he would stay in Twilight Town in his rented house.**

**She had just turned twelve when her mom became very sick. Her dad had been away from home for a very long time now and every call they made to the office went unanswered. Olette thought it would be wise to bring her father back to her mom. Her mom was, literally, being controlled by her emotions.**

**Though her mother had forbade Olette from going to Twilight Town, Olette had snuck out in the middle of the night to find her father and some medication for her depressed mom.**

Olette took a break at this moment, drinking a bit of water found in the tent.

"I was going to take the train," Olette continued with water dripping from her chin, "When I got to Twilight Town, I wanted to find my dad first. I had his workplace address," She explained with a sad grin.

Olette started to lie down. Her nose and mouth were almost covered by her paws. "When I got there, I went to ask the secretary where my father was. She checked through the documents and came up with this reply: **'He was moved to a new location.' **I couldn't believe it. Even now I wonder if he really did care for my mother and I."

Olette choked on a sob and Naminé froze with surprise. Olette's life must have been complicated.

"So I was about to catch a train back to my own house when I noticed the sound of footsteps behind me. I tried to walk faster, I really did. I didn't know where I was anymore; all the logic I had developed for this exact moment was gone."

Kairi got up from her spot on the beanbag and tried to comfort a conflicted Olette. The next part to the story seemed to have made a big impact on Olette's life.

She gave a small smile to Kairi and continued her story.

"So, I ran. I ran until I couldn't breathe but the footsteps seemed to match my own. I found out later I had run into a dog park with a forest on the edge. I wished to be safe, I wished that my mom was okay, but most of all, I wished to live," at this, Olette beamed a little. "This person, no, it was more like a voice inside my head which asked me if I really did want to live. Of course, I said yes."

Naminé widened her eyes in bewilderment. Olette must have heard the same voice she did! As soon as the thought struck her mind, Naminé became angry. How could a being with that much power trifle with their powers? Couldn't they have helped people without a price?

"The world went black after that," Olette concluded.

"I can't believe you went through all that," Kairi commented admiringly.

"How did you end up with Hayner?" Naminé asked a little bit more than curious. Olette seemed to be fond of Hayner.

"Well, I had lived on the streets for two months then. He was skateboarding alone along the sidewalk." She smiled an embarrassed smile. "He kind of... saw me; I guess it was because I was staring at him from across the street."

"So he took you in!" Kairi squealed childishly, "That was so nice of him, wasn't it Nami?"

"So he was a hypocrite..." Naminé muttered remembering the words Hayner had said to Roxas as they were discussing what to do with the dogs outside the clinic. She then proceeded to piece the mysteries of the voice they heard inside their head whenever they were in trouble. "I'm not so sure as to why this voice is helping us, but I think it **wants** something..."

"What was that Naminé?" Kairi asked. She had been drinking some water sloppily, thus making some noise.

"Ah, that reminds me of something the voice said," Olette said suddenly. Naminé was a bit startled. She had forgotten the chocolate furred dog was there. "It said, **'You will be in this form for three and a half years'**.

"Your curse is much easier to live by," Naminé sighed. "I'm not sure how I could make Roxas like me for my personality when I'm a dog. People don't pay attention to a dog's personality."

"I haven't seen my human self for three years," Olette murmured quietly. "I don't even know what I look like as a human anymore..."

"Don't worry," Kairi had spoken up, her blue eyes dancing. "You only have about half a year to go!"

"Olette? Where are you? Roxas and Sora want their dogs back you know." Hayner's voice came from the hallway. Olette gave a happy bark.

"I guess I'll see you next time," Olette was back to being her sunny self. "Make sure you guys stay out of trouble!" She joked.

"Haha, bye Olette!" Kairi jogged out of the tent.

"Bye, Olette." Naminé was a bit more reserved but Olette knew her personality a bit better now, even though they had met for no longer than an hour.

Naminé's nails clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked out of Olette's room.

* * *

Back in the Hikari mansion, a surprise was waiting in their living room. Roxas had dropped Naminé's leash as soon as he saw the person's face. Sora had started running, pulling an unexpecting Kairi along with him.

"Daaaaaaaaaad!" Sora shouted, throwing his arms around the brown haired man who had anticipated the attack. "You're back from your business trip to Radiant Garden? How long are you staying?"

"Calm down, Sora." The man who was their father laughed, "I'm here just for today." Mr. Hikari said, causing Sora to droop.

"Hey dad," Roxas had finally gotten over his shock and greeted his dad, picking up Naminé's leash from the floor. He walked closer to where his dad sat. "How was Radiant Garden?"

"It was a bit cloudy, but other than that, it was fine." Mr. Hikari picked up his newspaper from the seat beside him and started to read again. After a brief pause, he put down the newspaper and stared at Naminé and Kairi. "Is this the... lack for a better word, **surprise** your mom told me about?"

"Y-yeah dad. This is Nami," Roxas pointed a bit shakily at Naminé who was on her best behaviour so far, "And that is Kai." Roxas shifted his hand to rest on Kairi's head. Sora looked proud of Kairi for not squirming away.

Mr. Hikari's deep blue eyes twinkled. "Don't tell your mom but... I always thought it was high time you two had a responsibility other than cooking."

"Dad!" Sora gasped, "How could you?"

"At least he approves, Sora." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"So, since your mom is going to be late today, let's get started with dinner." Mr. Hikari rubbed his two hands together with a teasing smile. "Whose turn is it today?"

Roxas groaned and covered a side of his face with one of his hands.

* * *

Naminé had sat in the kitchen as Roxas prepared dinner for the second time during her stay. This time, he roasted three steaks covered in herbs and spices. The smell wafted into Naminé's nose, causing her to sigh. She had never smelled anything so delicious in her life.

Roxas took one look at her pale blue eyes and ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't decide whether or not to sneak a piece for her. Naminé stared back at Roxas and licked her lips expectantly. It was worth a try, she thought.

Roxas sighed and opened the oven. Carefully, he lifted each steak onto a plate. When he had finished setting the plates to look their best, he carefully took a knife and cut his own steak. When the piece was cut, he threw it to Naminé who lapped it up with joy.

Roxas smiled briefly and then proceeded to lift all three plates to the dining room where his dad and Sora were waiting.

* * *

They were in the dining room eating their respective dinner quietly. The occasional sound of the newspaper pages turning was the only reminder that their dad was home. Roxas liked to think Sora got his habit of reading newspapers from their dad.

"I knew it was a good choice to hire a five star chef to teach you two how to cook," Their father said with his mouth full and one hand waving a fork.

* * *

It was late at night and Roxas was dead tired. He went to brush his teeth and change his clothes. He exited from the washroom with a dazed look. With a careless toss of his clothes which missed his laundry basket, Roxas climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Naminé watched Roxas breathing evenly before she, too, fell asleep.

* * *

**End of Chapter Three**

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who added this story to their favourites and alerts. Also a special thank you for those who reviewed this story. I get really happy whenever I read your comments and they give me the inspiration to continue writing even when I'm stuck. Last of all, thank you for reading!

**FeralFairy: Ohh, I was wondering where the tournament you mentioned came from. To clarify, Sora was reading a newspaper before he got Kairi as a dog. Since the last name he read was Kai, he named Kairi, Kai. I hope this clears this up a bit. By the way, thank you for their ages! I was actually wondering if I wrote their ages in this story yet... but thank you nonetheless! I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far. I hope I'm meeting your expectations. xD  
**

**Riceball793: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! I was debating whether or not Roxas would see her smile or not. I'm glad I wrote what I did. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Oh, and I almost forgot, I appreciate the fact that you actually looked for any grammar mistakes in my writing. :]**

**xMisfit: Haha, yeah, I have to agree. Sora's reaction was a bit overboard, right? I was really worried my writing was a sad attempt on humor. Thank you! :3**

**Chipmunk4Ever: ****Thank you very much! I hope you continue to read this story. :)  
**


	4. Preparations

_Disclaimer: No I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I just wish I did._

Sorry for the very late update. (Hey, that rhymes!)

* * *

**Chapter Four: Preparations**

The day started as usual. Roxas' alarm clock beeped annoyingly as Naminé struggled to sleep. Roxas ignored the beeps the best he could until he could no longer sleep. He turned it off sloppily and rolled over in his bed, trying to soak up the time he could delay. When he finally saw that sleep was not going to claim him once again, he got up, grabbed his uniform, and headed for the washroom.

Naminé tried to deafen her ears to the noise unsuccessfully. Every sound she heard only aggravated her mood. If she didn't need to go to school, why did she have to wake up the same time anyway?

Roxas emerged from his bathroom prim, proper, and a bit clumsily. He threw his baggy clothes in a basket and headed towards Naminé's bed. Naminé pretended to sleep.

"Bye Nami," he whispered and walked out the door. He didn't say **'love you'** this time, she noted.

Naminé fought the urge to follow him downstairs and slept on. She was sure Kairi did the same.

* * *

Roxas ate breakfast a bit anxiously. He remembered that this was the day he would have to go to the cafeteria after school to list his name in the actor's slot. He fidgeted with his fork as he struggled to eat the syrup covered pancake.

"Schumching wong wich gha pawncawkesh?" Sora asked with his mouth full of the said food.

"No, I'm just a bit nervous... you know, signing up for the lead male part in the play and all," Roxas sighed and put down his fork on the gleaming plate. "I wondered what the other Organization members had to do for the sake of the school..." Roxas wondered out loud, resting his elbow on the table.

Sora gulped the last of his pancake down his throat. "I heard Demyx had to cross-dress as a girl last year." Sora held a look of pure terror on his face. "It was for a play, too... oh, and he had to sing like a girl." Sora added almost sadly.

"Ouch," Roxas winced slightly in a light manner, thinking of what his fellow organization member had to go through. It made his task seem like a nightmare. After all, he was signing up for a play as well.

"Oh, and that wasn't the worst of it," Sora continued. "Zexion had to write a speech on how the school made him happy and present it to the whole school... while looking happy." Sora glanced at Roxas to see his reaction. "It was to boost the school's enthusiasm level. Our school was about to enter the Struggle Tournament, remember?"

The mental image of a happy looking Zexion flashed before Roxas' eyes. He had missed Zexion's speech due to the Struggle training with his coach. Sora had skipped the training to attend Zexion's speech.

"Whoa..." Roxas now understood Zexion when he had said the Organization had suffered for the sake of the school. "Did all of the Organization's members do this at least once?"

"Oh, I think I heard that Axel had to embarrass himself twice." Sora was shaking his head with despair. "Once, he had to host a carnival while looking like a clown. He had face paint and everything..."

"That's not too bad," Roxas voiced up. "I mean, all he had to do was look like a clown and plan a carnival, right?"

Sora turned his pitiful eyes at Roxas. "He looked like a **fat** clown running around with balloons. He was actually running around trying to make sure all the preparations were set, but I don't know why he was holding balloons. Most of the small kids attending, cried."

"Pfft!" He had gone to the carnival due to Axel's begging. Roxas could remember seeing his red haired friend running around with an almost mad look on his face. Axel tended to get very anxious and hectic whenever he had responsibilities to fulfill.

Sora gave a small smile. "One and a half years ago, he had to organize a presentation for the **'Stop Playing with Fire'** group. The principal got really mad when he found out Axel was actually trying to convince the school that fire was really a good way to relieve stress."

"Oh..." Roxas had remembered the way Axel had pushed the 'Stop Playing with Fire' speaker away from the microphone. He delivered his passionate speech on the way in which fire looked, the way it gave warmth and the fact that lighting an object on fire relieved stress. The principal had suspended him.

"Oh yeah and Xemnas—" Sora was about to launch into another occasion in which another Organization member suffered when Roxas interrupted him.

"We're already late Sora!" Roxas shot up from his seat and ran to get his bag. Sora followed him expertly and they both ran out the door into the waiting car.

* * *

"I'm... so... sorry... I'm... late." Roxas had opened the Organization's Room's door to find twelve pairs of eyes staring at him. The meeting had started ten minutes ago.

"Sit down, Number Thirteen," Xemnas commanded in a slightly annoyed tone. "As we were saying before, your mission, Roxas, is to join the school's play successfully."

"When is this play going to be presented?" Roxas asked. He had resumed breathing normally.

"It's going to be presented in May," Axel said in a tone implying that Roxas lacked common sense. He had even rolled his eyes. "You know, the month after April?"

Roxas just glared at Axel.

"Don't forget that the signup is today after school, kid." Luxord flicked a card in Roxas' direction. "You don't want to miss it." He laughed.

Roxas caught the card with one hand and glanced at it. It was a queen of spades.

Zexion looked up once to glance at Roxas and then continued to sit in silence, staring at the empty tabletop.

Saix watched Roxas from the corner of his eyes. Roxas noticed him, but decided to stay quiet. It seemed Number Seven was suspicious of him.

"Good luck, fan girl lure." Larxene made a sarcastic comment directed to Roxas. It was as if the whole Organization wanted to aggravate him.

Demyx gave Roxas a sad smile. Demyx understood the young boy's pain because he had also been in Roxas' position. Roxas remembered Sora's earlier conversation and felt a stab of pity for the Organization's members. He was sure they had each gone through the same thing... or worse.

Xemnas rubbed his temple with exhaustion. The Organization was more childish than the public made them out to be.

"Organization, dismissed."

The sound of chairs sliding on the hardwood floor signaled their retreat.

* * *

Roxas tried to catch up with Axel after the meeting. They still had ten minutes before school officially started. No matter how hard he ran, he couldn't seem to catch up to Axel's fast stride. Roxas saw Axel round a corner and added an extra sprint to his jog.

"Axel, wait—Oof!"

Roxas had rounded the corner and smacked into someone.

"Whoa there, Roxas. I never knew you were that intent on catching up to me." Axel had stopped deliberately after he had rounded the corner.

Roxas steadied himself and brushed himself off. He should have seen that coming from his prankster of a friend. Though Roxas was a bit dishevelled, he got to the main point.

"Axel, could you do me a favour and—"

"—join the play? Sorry, no can do buddy." Though he said he so, Axel didn't look sorry at all. In fact, he was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm in charge of the lighting, but don't worry! I'll remember to shine the light right on you and your **'true love'**!"

Roxas opened his mouth but no sound came out. Axel had rejected his favour so quickly that it was a bit slow to sink in, plus, he had made fun of him again. He was about to argue about Axel's decision when he got cut off, again.

"Well then, see you after school Roxas!" With a single handed wave and a grin, Axel ran off to find his locker.

Roxas was left in the deserted hallway to marvel at Axel's hasty retreat. It was then that he realized he didn't even know what the play was about.

"WHAT?! TRUE **LOVE**?!"

* * *

"I am going to **kill** Axel the next time I see him," Roxas growled to his twin brother, Sora. "He practically ran away from me!"

Sora nodded his head slowly. "I understand how you feel, but didn't you tell me he was in charge of the lighting? Give him a break, Roxas."

Slowly, Roxas unclenched his teeth and relaxed his posture. For the whole morning, Roxas had been near unapproachable. Now, it was lunch time and the two were heading towards the cafeteria to buy their lunches.

Roxas suddenly had a small gleam in his eyes. Straining to be casual, he tried asking Sora. "So, Sora... how would you like to join the play? I mean, you're not doing anything, right?"

Sora glanced at his brother sharply and glared. "As if I would want to try out for the guy who fails to capture the lead girl's heart," Sora said, rolling his eyes in revulsion. "Like one of those cliché love stories." Roxas clearly noted the disappointed look in Sora's eyes. "I'm sure you'll be fine without me there to steal your **darling** soul mate," He added sarcastically.

"It's not always like that," Roxas tried to convince the brunette. "The other guy could be awesome, like maybe an evil villain that... you know... acts awesome?" Roxas was a bit unsure himself, but he wanted his brother to keep him company after school.

Sora's face lightened up. "You mean, he's going to be this awesome dude who smokes—"

"I doubt the school would allow smoking in the play," Roxas nervously corrected.

"—and rides a motorcycle. Oh, and he would act all uninterested and stuff? Awesome!"

Roxas gave a pained smile. "Yeah, maybe."

"Alright, I'm in!" Sora gave Roxas a goofy grin. "After school, in the gym, right?"

"Yeah, that's great. See you there." Roxas forced his smile in place. He didn't want to see his brother disappointed. He didn't mention the fact that **he** hoped they would be acting according to a classic instead. He wouldn't have to act in one of those cheesy story lines, being the guy who was absolutely lovesick for the Mary-sue….right?

* * *

After school, Roxas slowly made the dreaded walk to the gym. Each step Roxas took seemed to echo with anxiety. One hundred and three steps later, he was in front of the gym door. Muffled noises were already coming out of the cracks beneath the door. Roxas took a deep breath and reached out his hand to open the door. With a soft click, the door opened.

Roxas stared at the packed gym. He was expecting it to be empty, but instead, fifty or seventy females seemed to be clustered around Sora. A girl on his right was scribbling furiously while Sora described something. All the girls around him nodded with approval.

It seemed like an eternity before a girl spotted him in the doorway. With an ear-splitting screech she, and most of the other females in the room, mobbed him. He almost gave in to the instinct to run away but he held his ground with a nervous and fearful look on his face.

Faintly in the background, he could see Axel and Larxene arguing and pointing at the various spotlights. They seemed oblivious to the chaos that was the cast.

"Rox—!"

"Look here!"

"KYAAA!"

"Oh my gosh—"

"I love you!!"

Roxas blinked as the crowd swarmed him. He could faintly sense Pence with his video camera taping the entire thing. Roxas tried to push the crowd gently but they resisted, pushing him back.

"UH, SORA?! COULD YOU HELP ME?" Roxas shouted over the noise the fan girls were making.

Sora gave the writer who was still beside him a look that said **'Could you believe him?'** and walked over to Roxas slowly.

The fans started to struggle to get closer to him.

"A LITTLE FASTER, PLEASE?" Roxas shouted to Sora again. Sora visibly quickened his pace.

"Alright people, no matter how pretty he looks, he needs his space." Sora started to push people aside, gently. He just couldn't be mean no matter how hard he tried. "And no, I'm not his body guard."

Roxas was slowly eased out of the crowd and dragged along towards the writer who was still scribbling. Sora introduced the girl as a writer.

"Hello Roxas," She gave him a smile even though she didn't look up from her clipboard. "Mrs. Hikage, the drama teacher, told me she'd be here shortly."

"Oh, uh, that's great." Roxas was at a loss for words.

The door chose to slam open at that exact moment, revealing Mrs. Hikage in her splendor. She took one look at the packed room and gave a dramatic gasp.

"Wow, how **wonderful**! So many students are here to join our **wonderful** school play!"

Choruses of weak agreement filled the large gym. Mrs. Hikage squinted at the massive amount of people around her and thought about the play that would best fit the all of those who were present.

"—ikage? Mrs. Hikage, are you okay?" The writer was still trying to get the drama teacher's attention.

"Yes dear, I'm fine. Now what was it that you were saying?"

"I was wondering if... I could write a script for the play? With the help of the whole room, of course." The writer braced herself for the disappointment that was to come.

Mrs. Hikage hated to burst such an enthusiastic student's dreams but the play had to be a classic. It wouldn't be moral to waste such a great opportunity.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Hikage started, "but we need this play to be a classic."

The whole gym was quiet by this time, each student listening to the drama teacher's words. Silence ensued once she finished her sentence.

Uproar was the only word that could describe the moment. Students from various corners shouted their displeasure. Mrs. Hikage's ears felt like they were going to burst. She tried to shout over the noise but that only infuriated the occupants further.

"ENOUGH!" Mrs. Hikage screamed. "Why do you think we should do an original script when we could use a classic script instead? Do you know that writing a script requires more work? Do you think that you guys can handle the pressure?!"

The room erupted into screams.

"YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!"

* * *

Roxas had left the school as fast as he could. The sign-up that was supposed to take only five minutes took an hour and a half. The hour was spent deciding who was going to be which character and, unsurprisingly, Roxas was the male lead. Sora was the antagonist due to the fact that no one else wanted to go against Roxas except him.

He sighed as he walked up to his house's door.

"Nami?" Roxas opened the door to his house and waited while Sora brushed past him and went up the stairs. Strange, he had read somewhere that dogs would usually greet their owner once they were used to the routine. Come to think of it, Nami and Kai weren't **like** most dogs.

First of all, it seemed like they understood all that Roxas and Sora said. Hell, they could even pick their own collars! Roxas shook his head. Even the smartest dogs were—wait a minute. He just assumed that they were strays. If he thought back, back to the time he first saw Nami, he could have sworn her fur smelled like...

Vanilla.

And what was the thing Sora said to their mom before...?

Kai smelled like strawberries.

This was odd. There was no reasonable explanation but... maybe they weren't strays after all. There was a sudden pain in his stomach, as if his gut was being stabbed. He winced and pressed one of his hands on his stomach. Roxas blinked a few times and tried to decipher the pain in his gut. Was he jealous? He shook his head with a small smile tugging on his lips.

He couldn't be.

Roxas released his hand from its position on his stomach. She was just a dog for crying out loud... just a dog.

Somehow, he didn't believe it himself. Nami and Kai seemed like a mystery he couldn't solve.

He muffled a frustrated groan with his now free hand and dragged himself up the stairs. He couldn't believe he was contemplating about two dogs. What was there to contemplate about anyway?

He walked towards his bedroom which was now only ten feet away. As he was about to open the door, he heard an abnormal sound of scuffling. His hand paused inches away from the door in surprise. Who was in his room at this moment and what were they doing?

Roxas gulped anxiously and wrapped his hand around the doorknob. His eyes were dilated as he tried to calm his breathing. Finding a gust of courage, Roxas pushed open the door to find that his whole room looked like an explosion of colour supplies.

And it didn't help the situation that **his** Nami was sitting in the middle of this mess.

"Nami…" Roxas growled. "What happened here?"

Of course, he didn't expect an answer but he felt obliged to voice his opinion, somehow. Maybe it came with the fact that she seemed more intelligent, or maybe it was her clear blue and defiant eyes.

And then it hit him.

Dogs didn't have blue eyes.

Slowly, almost cautiously, Roxas set down his bag and inched backwards out his door. He closed his door with a click and let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Inside, he could hear Nami scrambling around.

He went downstairs to think, the notion of doing homework, forgotten.

Each step down made his decision seem cowardly. Just because she wasn't normal—possibly genetically mutated—didn't mean he couldn't learn to accept her.

Though his brain processed this information, his legs kept moving away from his room. It wasn't like him to be afraid.

Roxas made it to his living room and found the television's remote. He blankly clicked a button and the television screen flared up. Looking down at the remote, Roxas found the _'next' _button. His face was illuminated by the screen while watched.

He could faintly hear Sora upstairs practicing with Kai. He swivelled his head and looked at the clock. It was almost 7:00 PM. It was funny how time may fly when you're doing nothing in particular.

… Was it was his turn to make dinner? He thought hard and smiled. He was lucky; it was Sora's turn to cook today. His thoughts drifted back to Nami. How was she fairing? Was she a claustrophobic dog?

Was she mad at him?

He sighed and ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair. He couldn't stay mad at her, nor could he believe that she was mutated. She was a little different, yes, but anything other than that wasn't possible.

At least, that's what he tried to believe.

He was going to find the truth about Nami and Kai if it took him ten years. Any longer than that and he couldn't guarantee anything.

That's it, he decided. Until he found out what Nami really was, he would continue to act the same as he always did. It wasn't good to make a suspect suspicious.

Roxas sighed in contentment. All he had to do now was wait for Sora to make a nice fulfilling dinner.

* * *

Naminé had just finished cleaning up Roxas' room the best as she was able to. Paws and a muzzle weren't as nimble as hands and feet.

She slumped down on the floor, her whole boding aching. It would seem as if Roxas was mad at her. She sighed and closed her eyes halfway. She never knew she cared about what he thought.

Her stomach growled and she winced. Never once did she ever have to go without a meal. The funny thing was she knew how to cook. It was just she **couldn't** cook at the moment. Her stomach growled again, but this time, Naminé closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her.

…

……

………

_The fuzzy pictures slowly came into focus. She could see the clear blue sea and the smell the salt in the air. The sun was fully up in the sky, beating down upon her. She closed her eyes and smiled._

_She was wearing a white dress, her favourite one in her whole closet, and light blue sandals decorated with small yellow stars. Her hair was just the same as she last saw it; light blonde and a little past her shoulders._

_She was on Destiny Islands, her home town. She opened her eyes and looked down to see the light brown sand littered with shells at her feet. She bent down with a renewed vigour and started to pick up as many beautiful shells as she could. Her serene smile lit her features and enhanced her natural grace._

_Suddenly, she saw a figure in the distance, walking closer to her by the second. She stood up, brushed her dress, and waited. As the figure came closer, she recognized more and more details. The gravity defying blonde spikes, the posture, and the person's facial expression._

_He smiled and Naminé caught her breath. She looked down at herself in surprise. She couldn't remember this feeling, what was it called? She looked back up anyways and saw that he had stopped ten metres away from her. The blue ocean's waves ran up the shore, never quite reaching the both of them._

_Roxas looked different now, his smile was gone and his face was almost emotionless. His clothes had changed from his casual everyday clothes, to a more formal type of attire. He looked at her almost in contempt, scorn, and even hate. This wasn't the Roxas she knew._

_And so, she turned to run._

_She ran even though she knew it was Roxas. She ran even though she knew he would catch up to her. She didn't turn back even though she was dying to find out where he was. What __**was**__ this feeling in the pit of her stomach?_

_Eventually she turned back and found, to her surprise, he was no farther from her since the last time she stood before him. It was as if they were chained together. She couldn't escape from this nightmare. At least, she couldn't until she woke up._

_She sighed sadly and sat down. The Roxas look-alike sat down on the warm sand as well without a moment's hesitation. She had already come to a conclusion that stated the Roxas that was standing before was not the Roxas she knew, and so therefore, he was not __**her**__ Roxas._

_Even at this distance she could see him frustratingly clawing at the sand. He looked angry; she didn't want to have any type of contact with him at the moment. She took a deep breath and tried to resume her search for the shells, only to discover that they weren't on her side of the beach anymore, but on Roxas' side._

_Naminé frowned and crossed her arms childishly. This dream was really, by far, one of the most annoying nightmares, ever. Maybe it came with overexerting herself, she thought._

_She was startled out of her thoughts by a muffled sound. She lifted her head up and saw to her surprise, tears spilling out of Roxas' eyes. He still looked angry, no doubt about that, but now there was a tinge of sorrow in his expression._

_Unknown to even herself, she had started unconsciously walking towards the crying yet enraged Roxas look-alike. If he knew she was approaching, he didn't show it. Tears still dripped down his face but he made no move to wipe them. He continued to claw at the sand, as if he was trying to find something important to him._

_Naminé was standing before him now. The sand started flying around in a more agitated manner. It shocked her to see the calm, happy Roxas act like an anti-social being. She tried to compose herself before she sat down in front of him._

_He looked up at her, his eyes red and glaring. Thankfully, his tears had stopped flowing. "Who are you and what do you want?" He looked closely at her face, "Get away from me, you're not the one I'm looking for," he snarled at her._

"_Who are you looking for then? I can try to help." Naminé's words were more composed than she thought. It was really funny what dreams could make you do._

"_Nami," he muttered. "I need to find Nami…"_

_And then, the tears started to flow from his eyes again. They dropped to the sand, one by one, as he struggled to keep his composure._

_Naminé froze. She had forgotten that if she returned to her human form, her dog form wouldn't exist. Slowly, she moved her arms from her side and brought them around his neck._

_She closed her eyes and sighed._

_Dreams __really** are**__ complicated._

* * *

**End of Chapter Four**

* * *

Author's Note: Erm, I know excuses aren't really going to fix your opinion of me but I feel obliged to give one. Before the exam, I had great inspiration. The exams somehow just made me very very exhausted. My mom was the one who threatened my ice cream stash so you guys should really thank her. I'm happy to say that my mom is one of my best fans. Oh, and please continue to tell me if there are any grammar mistakes, thank you!

**xMisfit:To be honest, I'm not sure who the voice is going to be... but I shouldn't have said that, huh? Thank you very much! I'm very happy you like this style of writing. I'm very sorry about the slow update though. I hope you enjoyed~**

**Riceball793: Haha, I was kind of aiming for that confusion. Thank you for being the first one to admit it! I have to agree, Roxas should calm down. But I guess he can't help himself around Naminé, huh? I wish you luck with you-know-who. I think it's not really cliché at all. It's just that life flows that way.**

**Chipmunk4Ever: Hehe, I'm glad you think so.**

**Ruby C. Cullen: Thank you very much. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.**

**Lalala: First of all, thank you for reviewing even though you didn't have an account. This makes me very happy... Hmm, even I'm not sure of that... what does the witch**—**? Err, I mean... I'll come up with something.**

**StarGazeEyes: Oh really? I thought this was one of the most used plots in Kingdom Hearts... Thank you very much though! I'm really glad you think the characters are believable; I tried hard on that. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well... I hope they're not too OOC...  
**


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